Sacrifice
by Labygirl13
Summary: Updated June 12th! Marcal Fic. What I imagine the writers could've done if Gabrielle had died instead of Al. Please R&R!
1. Default Chapter

First attempt at OLTL fanfic. Let me know what you think.

Sacrifice

Chapter One

Al stared of into the distance, focusing on the wall of his hospital room. Marcie noticed the shift in his mood and said, "Al, is something wrong? Do you want me to get the nurse for you?"

Al looked over at Marcie and said, "Just -- I'm worried about my mom, you know, and why isn't my dad back yet?"

Marcie tried to reassure him. "Well, he's probably just visiting with her."

All let out a nervous breath and said, " Yeah. Yeah, you know, you're probably right."

Marcie saw that he was still extremely nervous and said to him, "Well, I could go check on her for you if you want me to."

Al looked into her eyes and thought, "_God I love this woman._"

"Would you?" he asked her, his lips forming a small put as he asked.

Marcie just smiled at him and said, "Of course." She planted a small kiss on his lips and said, "I'll be right back."

She turned and walked out of the room. She stopped at the door and turned to face him again. She took a breath and said, "You know what you were asking before about us living together?"

"Yeah," he said, having an idea of what her answer was going to be.

"I'd love to," she said. Al couldn't stop the smile from spreading on his face as he said, "I love you Marcie."

She smiled and said, "I love you too, with all my heart." She turned and walked off to find out information about Gabrielle. Al continued to smile as he watched her walk off. When she was out of his sight, he closed his eyes and let sleep take him.

"I'm sorry that I cannot tell you anything else, but we are doing everything that we can." Marcie heard Larry say as she walked into the waiting room where Bo and Max were.

"Why what's the matter? What's wrong?" Marcie asked, the panic rising in her.

Larry turned and said, "We are having some complications with Gabrielle. She was being sewn up when we noticed that she was hemorrhaging internally. We had to open her back up to try and find where she is bleeding. I'm sorry but I must get back in there, I will keep you updated as soon as I have more information." And with that, he turned on his heel and walked back toward the operating room.

Marcie moved toward Bo, who was facing the window, holding the ring that he had given to his love to his lips, saying a silent prayer. She put her hand on his shoulder and he turned and faced her. She said, "She is a fighter, Commissioner, everything is going to be all right."

Bo smiled sadly at her and said, "I don't know, Marcie. But I hope your right."

Gabrielle walked around in the darkness, calling out, "Bo? Bo, where are you? Bo?"

She saw a figure outlined in a bright white light and calls out, "Bo? Is that you?"

The figure begins to move toward her and she hears a voice say, "It's me, Mom."

She saw Al moving toward her, all dressed in white. She barely noticed that she was also dressed in all white also.

Gabrielle sighed and moved toward her son, embracing him in her arms. She pulled back and smiled at him, "I am so happy to see you."

He smiled also and says, "Me too."

"What are you doing here?" She asked him.

He smiled and said, "We're connected. We always have been. Now more than ever because of you."

Gabrielle shook her head and said, "I only did what any mother would do."

"Not any mother," Al said. "The best mother."

"I haven't always been," Gabrielle confessed.

"You always loved me. I always knew that, even when you weren't around." Al said.

"Did you really?" Gabrielle asked him.

Al nodded and said, "I could feel it here." He pointed to his head, then he moved his hand over his heart. "And here."

Gabrielle placed her hand over her sons and asked, "What did I ever do to deserve such a wonderful son?"

"I wasn't always so wonderful." Al said, honestly.

"You were to me," Gabrielle said to him. She paused and realized what was supposed to happen. She then asked him, "I have to go, don't I?"

Al nodded sadly and said, "It's time."

"Smile for me, would you, please, one last time?" Al did so for her and she said. "That's how I want to always remember you. I love you so very much Al. Always remember that. I will love you to eternity."

She hugged her son and gave him a kiss on the cheek. All Al could do was hold her, a sad expression on his face.

She drew back and looked at her son one last time. Then she turned and moved toward the bright white light that was beckoning to her.

Comments? Let me know!!!


	2. Chapter Two

Here is the second chapter for you!!! Let me know what think of the story so far!!!

He woke with a start, the sweat beaded on his forehead. He couldn't figure out where he was until he saw the face in front of him. He sighed as he realized who stood in front of him, then saw the worried expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" He asked her. He felt a sense of panic and asked her, "What's the matter?"

He saw the sadness in her her eyes and realized what happened. He looked at her in shock and said, "Is she gone?"

She nodded and said, "They just pronounced her about five minutes ago."

Nora moved to sit next to him in the waiting room and said, "I am so sorry Bo. I know you loved her so much."

Bo let her words sink in and couldn't stop the tears from flowing. Nora reached for him and held him in her arms, her own silent tears falling from her eyes, as he grieved for the woman he had just lost.

Al eyes slowly fluttered open to see darkness. He panicked at first, then calmed down when he realized that it was only night time and the lights in his hospital room were turned off. "When did I fall asleep? Where's Marcie?" he thought to himself looking around in the darkness, looking for some sign of life in his hospital room.

All of a sudden, he felt something move against his hand. Squinting in the dark light, Al smiled when he realized Marcie was asleep, her head resting next to his hand on the bed. Careful not to wake her, he smoothed the hair away from her face and watched as she slept soundly.

Before long, he felt himself fading away again, and within a few minutes, he had fallen asleep again.

"Why did this happen?" Bo asked out loud as he sobbed. All Nora could do was sit there and hold his hand as the tears flowed down his cheeks.

"All I can say, Bo, is that it must have just been her time," Nora stated, giving his hand a squeeze. Although she said it, she didn't really believe the words that came out of her mouth.

"Gabrielle was healthy, there was no reason for her to die." She thought to herself as she continued to comfort Bo.

Al was instantly blinded by bright white light. He squeezed his eyes shut to try and block it out. After a few moments, he opened his eyes again and saw that they had adjusted to the bright fluorescent lights in his hospital room.

He looked around for Marcie and saw her just outside his door, talking to Max. Al studied their faces and wondered why they looked so upset. Marcie glanced in the room and noticed that Al was watching them. She said something to Max, and the two of them turned and moved into Al's room.

"Hey, Gorgeous," Al said as Marcie moved over to stand next to his bed. She smiled and said, "Hey yourself," as she bent down to give him a kiss.

"Hey, dad," Al said as he and Marcie moved apart. Max nodded, and said, "How are you feeling, Al?"

"Like a magician sawed me in half," Al stated simply as he took Marcie's hand in his and brought it to his lips, staring into her eyes. Marcie smiled at him, but it quickly faded and was replaced with a sad expression.

Al noticed it right away, and said, "What is it sweetie?" Marcie's eyes left his and looked at Max, who expression matched Marcie's exactly. All of a sudden, Al felt a knot form in the pit of his stomach.

"Al," Max began. "Yesterday there wer some complications with your mom's surgery."

Marcie brought the hand Al wasn't holding up to his hairline and laced her fingers into his hair. Max continued, "Apparently, after they closed her up, they realized that she had some internal bleeding, so they had to open her up again to try and stop it. By the time they opened her back up, she had lost too much blood. She...she..." Max couldn't find the words to say to him as the tears welled up in his eyes.

Marcie pulled his face to meet hers with her hand and looked in his eyes. "Al, your mom died last night," she said, as the tears fell from her eyes and down her cheeks.

All Al could do at first was just stare at Marcie, jaw dropped open. He felt like someone had hit him with a ton of bricks. The knot in his stomach grew bigger and bigger, and for a second, he thought that he was going to be sick.

He tried to make sense of it in his mind, but it wouldn't register. "This can't be happening," he said. "I just saw her yesterday, and she was fine. She was happy, she...she is supposed to get married. I am supposed to walk her down the aisle." The grief in Al's voice grew with every word that he said.

The tears began to pour out of his eyes, and Marice wiped them away with her thumb. She moved forward and kissed his brow, and hugged him as best as she could, without hurting him or getting tangled in the IV tubes. Al began to shake as he sobbed, and he wrapped his arms tightly around Marcie as if holding on for dear life.

All Max could do was stand there, silent tears falling down his face, as he watched his son break down in Marcie's arms.

"Bo, let's get out of here." Nora said, after Bo's sobs had subsided.

Bo shook his head, "No way, I am not leaving here."

"Well, then you should go in there and see her. The doctor's said that you could hours ago." Nora said to him.

"I..I can't," Bo said, his eyes filling with tears again. "I don't want to believe that she is gone, and if I go in there, I will have to face the facts and realize that she is gone. I just can't do that yet, Nora."

"Well, lets go and get something to eat then," Nora said to him. "You haven't has anything but coffee in your stomach for over 24 hours. We can go to the cafeteria in the hospital.

Bo looked up at Nora and saw the worry in her eyes. He knew that she was right, even if he didn't want to admit it to her. Silently, he nodded weakly and the two of them stood and walked down the hall of the hospital together.

Marcie looked down at Al as he slept. Max had left hours ago, stating that he needed to be alone and think, leaving Marcie and Al alone together. She continued to hold Al as he cried, her own tears falling and mixing with his.

He tugged at her shirt, trying to pull her even closer to him, and she obliged by laying down next to him on the bed, just like they had done two days before. Except this time, she cradled him in her arms. Al continued to cry until he fell asleep, his head resting on her chest.

They had remained in this position for the past hour, and even though Marcie's back was killing her, she refused to move, for fear of waking Al.

She knew he needed his sleep, and she didn't want to keep him from getting it.

She tried to tame the unruly hair along his brow line and kissed the crown of his head. She whispered to him, "We are going to make it through this, Al. I promise I will help you through this, no matter what. You have my word on that."

She kissed his head one more time, then leaned her head against his and closed her eyes as she fell into a light sleep, one more tear sliding down her cheek.

Like what you are reading? Let me know what you think so far!!!


	3. Chapter Three

As always, feedback is greatly appreciated!!!

"So what do you say Larry?" Max asked outside of Al's hospital room. "Is Al going to be able to go home soon?"

"Well, physically Al is recovering quite nicely," Larry began. "But the emotional trauma of Gabrielle's death concerns me. He is taking this harder than I expected. He hasn't been eating very well."

"Well, he didn't want her to go through the surgery in the first place, remember?" Max said, rubbing his forehead with his hand, trying to prevent the headache that was looming.

"I would like to schedule an appointment with a psychiatrist for Al, so that he can work through this," Larry said.

"I agree with you on that, but do we have to do it here in the hospital? I promise that I will take him to his appointments personally if you let us take him out of here." Max said. "It has been two weeks since he found out, and Marcie and I would like nothing more than to get him out of here."

Larry thought for a minute, still having his doubts. He then sighed and said, "All right. I will get the paperwork started and he will be able to go home tomorrow. I will also get an appointment with a psychiatrist I know, she specializes in cases like Al's."

"Thank you, Larry," Max said. "I really appreciate it." Larry just nodded and turned to start the necessary paperwork.

He turned back again and said, "You have to promise me that Al will at least go and see the psychiatrist."

"I will drive him there myself, I promise," Max said. "Don't worry. I am sure that Al will say yes to this."

"No way."

"Al, come on," Max said to him. After talking with Larry, Max walked into Al's room and told him the good news. He then told Al about seeing the psychiatrist, and the small smirk that crossed Al's features fell immediately.

"Dad, I said no."

"Look at it this way. You would have to talk with her either way. This way you won't have to be stuck in a hospital room. You can go home with Marcie and be with her." Max said.

Al thought about everything that had taken place over the last two weeks. The first night after they had told him about his mother was very rough.

Marcie had been with him for awhile, until the nurse came around and kicked her out again. They decided not to risk anything by trying to sneak back into his room again, and she told him that she would be back first thing in the morning to see him.

Al ended up tossing and turning the entire night after he woke from constant nightmares.

Gabrielle's funeral had been a couple of days later. Al was not allowed to go because Larry felt he wasn't strong enough at the time. But Bo came by later in the day and told him about the service in great detail.

He also told Al that Gabrielle's living will stated that she wanted to be cremated and have her ashes spread in Argentina. Bo promised that as soon as Al was strong enough, they would fly down there and carry out Gabrielle's wishes.

Every day since that night had also been extremely difficult for him. He didn't want to talk to anyone. He just wanted to be left alone for awhile, but between nurses and well-wishers, it was difficult to get five minutes alone.

In the meantime, Marcie had gone out and found an apartment above Foxy Roxy's for them and had begun to move their belongings in there so that when he was released from the hospital, she would be able to take care of him. Roxy understood their situation, and allowed them to move in without signing a lease or paying a down payment right away.

"Al, I know that this has been difficult for you, it has been difficult for all of us," Max said as he moved to sit next to his son on the bed. "But you need to do this. It's the first step in order to help you heal."

"Dad, I am healing just fine. I don't need any help from anyone, especially a psychiatrist." Al said angrily. "Now I'm tired, and I would like to get some sleep." With that, Al rolled away from his father as best as he could without wincing as the pain from his stitches hit him like a ton of bricks and closed his eyes.

Max sat there for a minute, watching as his son pretended to sleep, then got up and left the room. He hoped that Marcie would be able to talk some sense into his son.

"All right Al, we got everything out to the car. Are you all set?" Marcie asked him as she walked in the hospital room the next day. She was so happy that Al was finally going home to their new apartment.

"I guess I am as ready as I will ever be," Al said, sitting in his wheelchair. He looked around the room and hardly recognized it without all the flowers and gifts that he had received during his stay there.

"Do you think that you will miss this place?" Marcie said. Al didn't respond, but gave her a look that said "Are you kidding me?"

"Right, I didn't really think that you would say yes. So, are you ready? Your dad is waiting outside." Marcie said.

"Yeah, Let's go," Al said, as he began to push himself out the door. Marcie tried to grab the handles of the chair to push him, but he refused. So she walked next to him as they headed down the hall and out of the hospital.

"So what do you think of the place?" Marcie asked Al as they sat in their apartment, eating Chinese food. Al looked around and said, "It's nice. It could use a layer of paint here and there though."

"Yeah, well for now we will focus of you. Then, once your completely healed, we can focus on fixing up the place." Marcie said as she took a bite of her food.

She watched as Al pushed his food around on his plate. She thought about what Max had said to her as he left earlier. He had talked with Marcie about the conversation he had with Al the day before, and about how stubborn Al had been about going to see Dr. Kren, the psychiatrist Larry had referred them to.

Max had said to her as he was leaving, "Please do everything that you can to convince him to go. He needs to talk about this with her in order to get over it."

Marcie decided now was the time to talk with Al about it, and said to him, "Your dad told me about your appointment with Dr. Kren next week."

Al choked on the bite of rice that he was chewing on. Marcie jumped up and handed his glass of water to him. He took it and swallowed a couple of huge gulps to wash down the food.

Once he had his coughing under control, he looked at Marcie and said as he raised his glass to his lips to take another sip of water, "Did he also tell you that I am not going to go to it?"

"Al, why not?" Marcie said as she sat back down and began to pick at her food.

"Marcie I don't need to see her or anyone else. I can deal with this on my own. I will be fine." Al said as he took another bite of rice.

Marcie asked him, "Why won't you go and see her?"

"What color do you think would look good in here?" Al asked looking around the room, trying to change the subject.

"Al," Marcie said. "Talk to me."

Al dropped his fork and pushed his wheelchair away from the table, saying, "I don't want to talk about it Marcie."

"Why not, Al?" Marcie said. "I thought that you trusted me. Why can''t you talk to me about this?

Al pushed the wheelchair toward the gigantic window and parked next to it, staring out at the street below. "I do trust you, Marcie. I just don't feel that it is necessary for me to go."

"Yeah, I know that, Al, you already told me," Marcie said, getting up and moving over to where he sat. "I want to know why you don't feel it's necessary."

Al looked up at Marcie, then down at his hands as he sighed. He couldn't keep the truth from her. She would force it out of him one way or another, so he might as well tell her now.

"I'm afraid, Marcie," he said, keeping his eyes on his hands. "I am terrified about what will happen when I talk to her." The tears began to pool up in his eyes, but Al did nothing to try and stop them.

Oh, Al," Marcie said, moving to hold him in her arms. "You know that is a completely normal feeling, right? Everyone has those feelings when they have to talk with a psychiatrist. I certainly did."

"When did you see a psychiatrist?" Al asked her.

"A few years ago, when I was in high school," Marcie said. "My dad sent me to one because my aunt told him to. She thought that I was depressed."

"Really?" Al asked, still in shock of Marcie confession.

"Yeah," Marcie said. "I thought that there was nothing wrong with me, but it turns out that I was holding a lot of pain from my past, like my mother dying, the way my dad treated us as kids..." Marcie trailed off, thinking about those unhappy memories.

"So why do you still have a hard time talking about those things?" Al asked. He did not mean to pry so much, but his curiosity was getting the best of him.

"My dad pulled me out of it after a couple of weeks because he thought that it was a waste of time and of money." Marcie said bitterly at the thought of that unpleasant memory.

She moved around so that she and Al were face to face and said, "I feel though that the time that I was there was really helpful for me, though, and I feel that it will do the same for you Al."

Al didn't say anything, but just looked into her eyes. "Please tell me that you will go at least one time Al," she said to him.

She moved forward and placed a light kiss on his lips, then pulled back to look into his eyes and said, "Please Al. For me?"

All Al could do was look at her as he debated what his answer would be.

Let me know what you think!!!


	4. Chapter Four

Here's another chapter for you all. Here we Go!!!

"Well, I think it was a total waste of time," Al said as he walked into the apartment, using his cane to support him and put less stress on his healing stitches. He moved and sat down on the couch.

"No one said that it was going to be easy, Al," Marcie said following him into the apartment, dropping her keys on the coffee table and looking down to where he sat.

It certainly hadn't been easy. Marcie had driven Al to Dr. Kren for his first appointment, and sat in the waiting room while Al spent a grueling two and a half hours with the doctor, talking about everything except the one thing that he should have been talking about. Every time Dr. Kren tried to bring up the subject of Gabrielle, Al somehow managed to change the subject.

As they were driving out of the parking lot, Al told Marcie that he was never going to see her again, although he wouldn't tell her why. They had argued the entire trip home, and up to their apartment.

"Tell me what happened in their Al," Marcie said, perching herself on the edge of the coffee table to look at him face to face.

"Nothing happened in there Marcie, that's the point," Al said. "We sat in that room for two and a half hours and talked about stupid things. Two and a half hours. I was practically pulling my hair out by the end of the session."

"Well, maybe she was just trying to get to know you, since it was your first session or something like that. They usually do something like that with new patients. I'm sure that she had good reason for it." Marcie rambled on. "Anyway, it will get easier every time that you go, Al."

"But I'm not going to go anymore, Marcie. I already made that perfectly clear." Al said, slouching into the couch and crossing his arms like a stubborn child.

Marcie could tell that he was wasn't telling her something, so she said, "Why Al? Why don't you want to go?"

Al tore his eyes away from her and focused his gaze out the large window of their apartment. He said, "I already told you, Marcie. It's a complete waste of time and money that we don't really have right now."

Refusing to back down, Marcie moved in closer to his face and, reaching a hand out to cup his chin, moved his head so that his eyes met hers. She said, "Yeah, it a nice excuse, Al, but I want to know the real reason."

When he said nothing, she tried coaxing him one more time, "Please Al. Talk to me. Tell me why."

"Thank you for making this meal, Nora," Bo said as he pushed the food around on his plate.

"Yeah, thanks Nora," Max said, taking a bite of food.

Nora smiled and said, "Well, Matthew did most of the really hard work. I just helped him out." She looked over at her son and smiled. He smiled back at her.

"I even picked out the entire dinner by myself," he said as he looked at Max and his dad, who were slowly working on cleaning their plates.

Bo looked at his son, and said, "Well then, it's one of the best meals I ever had. You must have gotten that from me, because it certainly didn't come from your mother."

"Hey now," Nora said. "My cooking isn't that bad."

"It just always isn't that good either," Bo said, taking a small bite of food. He looked at Matthew again and smiled as Matthew laughed at his joke.

But as soon as the smile appeared on his face though, it was gone. Bo wasn't in a smiling mood right now. He put on this act for others, trying to convince them that he was doing okay, but ob the inside, he felt like he was dying.

He heard that when you lose someone you love, the pain tends to get better as the days go by. Right now, he didn't believe it. He missed Gabrielle now more than ever.

Nora had sensed that he wasn't doing as great as he led everyone on to believe, and suggested to Matthew that they do something to help him feel better. Matthew thought of the dinner, and called Bo right away to ask him. Bo couldn't say no, even though in his heart, he didn't really want to.

Nora and Matthew had gone grocery shopping later that day and ran into Max at the store. Nora asked him how he was doing, and Max said that he was holding up okay. Nora took one look at the contents of his shopping cart, and immediately invited him to dinner. Max refused at first, saying he was worried about Al, and wanting to spend some time with him. He finally gave in after Nora's pleading became annoying.

Now here they were, sitting around the table and eating. Nora watched as Matthew talked to both Bo and Max, both of them participating in the conversation, but neither one really wanting to. She said a silent prayer, asking God to give the two of them the strength to get through this.

Marcie sat in a chair and watched Al as he slept. Al had again refused to tell her why he really didn't want to go back to Dr. Kren's office, and changed the subject immediately. Not wanting to push him too much, Marcie backed off.

Al had brought up the subject of dinner, and the two of them had a light conversation over pizza. Al hadn't eaten very much food though, and went to bed immediately after dinner was finished.

That was four hours ago, and Al was still out cold. Marcie picked up her journal and continued writing in it from where she had left off a while ago.

"The truth is, I am scared. I am scared for us and I am scared for our future together. Ever since he found out about his mother, things have not been the same for us, and I feel like I am losing him to the demons that he is battling now."

Again, she glanced at Al's sleeping form on the bed, then continued writing:

"I feel as though he doesn't trust me anymore, and that kills me inside. Every time I try and talk to him, he changes the subject of our conversation in a heartbeat, and every time he does that, I get a little pain in my chest."

Pausing to read the words she had just written, Marcie was shocked at the intensity of what she had just written. She couldn't believe that she had just written that. As she read over the last couple of paragraphs again, she realized she meant every single word of what she had written. Wiping away tears that had somehow formed in her eyes and fallen down her cheeks, she continued once more:

"Although I keep going on about us, and as much as I am scared for our future together, I am more afraid for Al by himself. I feel as though keeping everything hidden will only make things worse for him. I am scared that he is going to break mentally if he doesn't work through this. I fear that he will harm himself in some way. I pray all the time that God will give him strength to help him through, but as of right now, I don't think he is getting any of my messages."

A noise brought Marcie out of her thoughts and back into reality. She was shocked to see that Al was tossing and turning in bed. He had broken out into a sweat and was practically screaming in his sleep. Leaving her journal on the chair, she got up to go and comfort Al. She climbed onto the bed and gathered what she could of him into her arms, hoping to help calm him down and prevent him from hurting himself. After a couple of minutes, Al had settled back down again and was once again resting peacefully.

Marcie sat and continued to hold him. She had thought about the last paragraph that she had just written in her journal, and realized that her predictions were beginning to come true. Careful not to wake Al, she quietly let her emotions take over, and she sobbed quietly as she continued to hold Al as he slept in her arms.

Once she had gotten control of her emotions and her sobs subsided, she eased Al out of her arms, praying that he wouldn't wake up. When he rolled over in his sleep and continued to snore softly, she exhaled in relief. She watched him for a few seconds again, then leaned over and kissed his brow, drenched with his sweat and her tears.

She got off the bed carefully, then said quietly as she stared down at him, "This has got to stop. I am going to end this tomorrow. You and I are going to sit down, and you are going to talk to me, even if I have to force it out of you." And with that, she turned and walked into the bathroom to get ready for bed.

Comments? Let me know!!


	5. Chapter Five

HI ALL! I WON'T KEEP THE STORY FORM YOU FOR VERY LONG. ENJOY THIS CHAPTER, AND AS ALWAYS, FEEDBACK IS GREATLY APPRECIATED!

_"I love you so very much Al. Always remember that. I will love you to eternity." Gabrielle said as she looked into her son's eyes._

_She hugged Al and gave him a kiss on the cheek. All Al could do was hold her, a sad expression on his face. _

_She drew back and looked at him one last time. Then she turned and moved toward the bright white light that was beckoning to her._

_Al suddenly realized he didn't want her to go, and began to shout to her,"Mom! Don't go! Wait mom, let me go in your place!"_

_When she just kept walking, Al began to run after her. He was just about to reach her when she vanished into thin air. Panting heavily, Al looked around, trying to catch a glimpse of her white dress she was wearing in the darkness. When he didn't see her, he began to scream out as the tears fell down his face, "MOM!"_

Al trashed around on the bed, drenched in sweat, moaning out loud. With one final thrust, Al woke himself up with a start. He sat up and looked at the other side of the bed only to realize that Marcie wasn't there. He looked around the bedroom for her in the darkness, and when he wasn't able to see anything, he began to yell out her name.

"Marcie! Marcie, where are you? Marcie!" Tears began to run down his face again as he struggled to free himself from the tangled sheets that were wrapped around him. He tried to step out of them, only to fall to the floor.

Marcie walked out of the bathroom, her robe wrapped tightly around her, her hair up in a towel. She noticed Al still struggling to free himself on the floor, and immediately went to him.

"Al, Al, what are you doing?" She asked as she knelt beside him. When he didn't respond right away, she grabbed his arms and forced him to look at her. "AL! What are you doing?"

Al mind finally noticed that she was there, and he looked at her for a second before crushing himself into her chest as he began to sob again. Marcie was shocked at what she had just witnessed, and all she could do was hold onto him.

"Marcie, I was so scared," Al said in between small sobs. "I had a nightmare and I woke up, and you weren't there. Marcie, I was so scared."

"It's okay, Al. I am here, I'm right here." Marcie said as her arms wrapped around him tightly. She began to rock him back and forth to try and calm him down a little.

"Where were you? I was so scared. I was screaming your name and you didn't answer," Al said, beginning to calm down.

"I was in the bathroom, taking a shower. I didn't hear your screaming until I turned the water off." Marie said, bringing one of her hands up to tame the wild hairs that were sticking up along his brow line.

"I was so scared." Al said, clinging to her more tightly. Marcie didn't say anything, just held him and continued to rock back and forth.

After about five minutes, she said, "Al, my legs are falling asleep. Can we move onto the bed?" Al just nodded into her chest. She helped him untangle himself from the sheets, then helped him back into the bed. He laid down and she sat on the edge to the bed and freed her wet hair from the towel, looking down at him.

"Tell me about your dream." Marcie said to him. Al looked away from her, and out the window, watching the rain that had begun to beat against the window.

Marcie decided enough was enough. "Al, look at me."

Al hesitated, then looked at her. "Do you remember when you stayed with me that night after you found me in the dumpster?" Marcie asked. Al nodded.

She continued, "Remember how I didn't want to tell you what happened, but you made me trust you so much that I told you?" Al said nothing, but continued to look at her.

"I am asking you to see that I want you to trust me, so that you can tell me everything that is troubling you. Al, you shouldn't be going through this all by yourself. I want you to share with me, so that I can help you get through this."

Al looked back out the window, still not saying anything. Marcie looked at him as he looked away, then sighed in frustration. She got up off the bed and headed toward the door of the bedroom.

"Marcie, wait." She heard him say. "Please don't leave." She turned on her heel to look at him. She saw that he was looking at her, a look of desperation on his face. "Fine, I will tell you. Just don't leave me."

The two of them were lying on the bed, facing each other. Al first told Marcie about his nightmare. He cried as he spoke, and Marcie found herself wiping away a couple of tears as she held his hand.

"...and I couldn't find her, and I panicked. Then I guess I woke myself up and I couldn't find you, so I panicked even more." Al finished.

Marcie sighed and said, "Al, you know that she loved you so much. She did what any mother would do for their child."

"But I feel like I could've done something to prevent this from happening..." Al said.

"Now stop it." Marcie said. "In a way, this is almost as much my fault as it is yours. If I hadn't given you that virus, you wouldn't have needed the transplant. There was nothing really that could've prevented this from happening. Maybe it was just your mother's time to go, Al."

Al remained silent as he watched the rain. Marcie stared at him in silence for a minute, then reached out to cup his face. "Are you feeling a little better?"

Al looked at her and nodded. "A little bit." He said. "I am glad that I told you."

Marcie decided to push a little further and asked, "Tell me what's wrong, Al. Tell me what you refuse to tell Dr. Kren."

Al didn't want to tell her, not because he didn't feel that he could trust her, but because he wasn't ready to face that himself.

So instead of talking, he leaned forward and kissed her lightly. She was shocked at first, thinking that he was going to answer her question, but she quickly responded to his kiss. He deepened the kiss and traced her mouth with his tongue, begging her silently for access. She granted it and opened her mouth to him.

Al rolled forward so that he was practically on top of her as their tongues continued to dance with each other. Al's mouth left hers and began to trace a trail down her jawline. Marcie moaned as he quickly found a sensitive spot on her ear that he discovered the last time that they made love.

Al's hands left her shoulders and moved toward the knot that was keeping her robe closed. Marcie laid her hands on his and said, "Al, I don't think we should do this yet. Your stitches are still healing..." she began.

"Please, Marcie." Al pleaded, pulling away to look in her eyes. "It's been too long. Besides, Larry said that the stitches were healing just fine at my last visit, and that we can probably take them out in a couple of days."

"I don't know, Al. I really don't want to hurt you, and besides, I don;t think that we have any protection around here." Marcie said.

"Marcie, I don't care. I just want to be with you right now. No, I NEED to be with you right now," Al said.

Marcie looked into his eyes and saw a mix of emotion, love, fear, passion, and lust just to name a few. She didn't really want to deny him what he wanted, she wanted it as much as he did. But she was worried that she would hurt him.

"Please, I love you so much, and I want to make love to you. Please Marcie." Al begged, as he leaned in to capture her lips again.

Marcie broke the kiss and looked at him again, then said, "All right, Al. Make love to me.

COMMENTS? LET ME KNOW!


End file.
